


The Supernatural Dead

by Castiel_Novak_79



Category: Supernatural, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:41:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29532132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castiel_Novak_79/pseuds/Castiel_Novak_79





	1. Days Gone, Bye

~Castiel's POV~

I walk down the street, keeping an eye out for any of those monsters, "Why did we get separated? Why now?" I ask myself. "Daddy! Daddy!" a young boy yells, I look over in his direction, he has a shovel and is standing over a man. "Carl..Carl, I found you.." the man mutters, "Daddy, I got this sum-bitch. I'm gonna smack him dead." A different man, the young boy's father, shoots a monster in the head as he makes his way over. "He say something? I thought I heard him say something." I say, the boy looks up at me and his father stands next to me, "He called me Carl." His father looks at him, "Son, you know they don't talk." I see he has a bandage on his side, "Hey, mister. What's that bandage for?" 

The man on the ground looks up, "What?" "What kind of wound? You answer me, damn you! What's your wound?" the father yells, he doesn't respond, "You tell me! Or I will kill you." I look at him, shocked, "You don't have to threaten the poor man!" "He could be infected, a danger, we have to know." "Daddy, he's out!" We turn and see the man is passed out, due to either shock or the wound. "Do you have a safe place?" I ask, picking him up, "Yeah, the house. C'mon, Duane, go ahead." 

-

I sit next to Rick, the man who passed out, he's been in and out of consciousnesses for hours. Morgan, Duane's father, walks over to talk with Rick "Got that bandage changed out. It was pretty rank. What was the wound?" "Gun shot." "Gun shot? What else? Anything?" "Gun shot ain't enough?" "Look, I ask and you answer. It's common courtesy, right? Did you get bit?" I get up and walk over to Duane, still listening to the other two, "Bit?" Rick asks confused, "Bit. Chewed. Maybe scratch? Anything like that." "No, I got shot." "Just shot?" "As far as I know. Hey... Just let me... " Morgan feels his forehead, "Feels cooler now. Fever would have killed you by now." "I don't think I have one." "Be hard to miss."

He pulls out a knife and shows it to him, "Take a moment, eh? Look how sharp it is. You try anything... I will kill you with it, and don't you think I won't." Duane frowns and looks away from them, Rick stays still and Morgan cuts him free. "Come on up when you're able. Come on." The four of us walk downstairs to get a bit of food, "This place... It's Fred and Cindy Drake's." "Never met them." "I've been here. This is their place." Morgan sighs, "It was empty when we got here." Rick goes to peel the blankets on the windows back, I quickly walk over "Don't do that. They'll see the light. There's more of them out there than usual."

Morgan looks down, "I never should have fired that gun today. The sound draws them, now they're all over the street. Stupid... using a gun... It all happened so fast... I didn't think." "You shot that man today." he says, "Man?" "That was not a man..." I say. "What the hell was that out of your mouth just now?" Morgan asks Rick, looking him in the eyes, "You shot him. In this street, out front, a man." "You need glasses. It was a walker. Come on." Rick looks at us confused, Morgan sets a bowl down on the table, "Sit down, before you fall down. Here. Eat," he looks at me "You too, come on."

The two of us sit, Duane looks up from his seat "Daddy... Blessing..." "Yeah." he takes my hand, along with Rick's, as they close their eyes I watch. "Father, we thank thee for this food... Thy blessings... We ask you to watch over us in these crazy days. Amen." I frown, _Do they really believe that my Father will come back, or are they doing this to convince themselves they are alright?_ "They're out there now, in the street?" Rick's voice brings me out of my thoughts, "Yeah. They're even more active after dark sometimes. Maybe it's the cool air or... Hell, maybe it's just me firing up that gun today. But we'll be fine long as we stay quiet. Probably wander off by morning. Well, listen... One thing I do know... Don't you get bit! We saw your bandage and that's why we were afraid of. Bites kill you. The fever... burns you out. But then after a while... You come back."

Duane nods sadly, "Seen it happen." _Poor child. Father, why **are** you doing this? _"So, why're you wandering around?" Morgan asks me, I look at him "I was..I got separated from my _group._ A lot of the 'Walkers' flooded camp, it's been two weeks since I last saw them." He nods, then motions to my necklace, which is actually Dean's but he lost it that night, it was the only thing left there, "Guessing that's from one of them?" "His name is Dean, it's been his since childhood. I'm hoping that when I see him again, _if_ I see him again, I'll be able to give it back to him. It, uh, means alot."

-

I sit on the one mattress, Duane is half asleep close to Morgan, Rick is across from them "Carl... He your son? Duane... He said his name today..." "He's a little younger... than your boy." "And he's with his mother?" "I hope so." I sigh, Duane looks up "Dad?" "Yeah?" "Did you ask him?" Morgan smiles, "Your gun shot... We got a little bet going. My boy says you're a... bank robber" _No, he's a cop. The one that got shot months ago.._ "Yeah... That's me. Deadly as Dillinger. Kapow. I'm Sheriff's deputy." A car alarm outside starts going off. Morgan calms Duane down, who woke up in panic. "Hey, it's ok, daddy's here. It's nothing. One of them must've bumped a car..." "You sure?" Rick asks, "Happened once before. Went off a few minutes. Get the light, Castiel, please." I dim the lights and they look outside. 

I walk up behind them, there are several of the walkers walking around outside. "It's the blue one, down the street." I say, Morgan chuckles softly "Same one as last time. I think we're ok." I tilt my head slightly, "That noise... Will it bring more of them?" "Nothing to do about it now. Just have to wait 'em out till morning." A woman, clearly dead, walks up the stairs to the door. "She's here." Duane says, starting to cry, "Don't look. Get away from the windows. I said go! Come on!" Morgan says to Duane as comforts him. "Come on, quiet. Shh, shh..." I walk towards the door and look out the peephole. "It's ok, here. Cry into the pillow. Can you remember? Shh..." The woman stands at the door, in confusion, she then starts to turn the doorknob left and right, but it doesn't open since it's boarded shut.

I back away from the door, Rick sits next to Morgan and Duane, "She, uh... She died in the other room, on that bed... Nothin' I can do about it here... That fever, man... Her skin gave off heat like a furnace... Should have put her down, I should have put her down, I know that, but... You know what... I just didn't have it in me... She's the mother of my child." I nod, "It sounds like she left.." 

-Next Morning

Morgan, Rick, Duane, and I leave the house. "Are we sure they're dead?" Rick asks, "You have to ask, just one more time. They're dead. Except for something in the brain. That's why it's gotta be the head." Morgan says. One of them is lying up against the fence post but gets up and starts walking towards us. Rick smashes it in the head several times with a baseball bat, it falls to the ground. I look at him, "You alright?" "Need a moment." We walk across the street, Rick goes up the porch steps and walks into a house, "They're alive. My wife and son. At least they were when they left." "How can you know? By the look of this place..." He looks at me, "I found empty drawers in the bedroom. They packed some clothes. Not a lot. But enough to travel." "You do know anybody could've broken in here and stolen clothes, right?" "You see the framed photos on the walls? Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."

"Photo albums... My wife... Same thing... Here I am, packing survival gear, she's grabbing photo albums..." Morgan says, Duane frowns "They're in Atlanta, I'll bet." "Why there?" Rick asks, I turn to them, "Refugee settle. Huge, when they said it, before the broadcast stopped. Military protection, food, shelter... They told people to go there. Said to be safest." Duane nods, "Plus they got that disease place." "Center for Disease Control. Said they were working on how to solve this thing." Rick grabs a set of keys.

~Third person~

Castiel, Rick, Morgan and Duane go into the Police Station. They walk into the locker room and Rick turns on the shower. "Gas and light have been down for maybe a month." Morgan says, Rick chuckles, "Station got its own propane system. Pilot's still on." The four decide to enjoy a nice, hot shower. Rick shaves his beard off and they all get clean, "Oh, my Lord. Hot water!" Duane smiles, "That feels good, right?" Rick hands him some clothes, "Duane... Dress in the room back there." He nods, "Thank you." Morgan looks at Castiel and Rick, "Atlanta sounds like a good deal. Safer anyway. People... That's where we were heading. Things got crazy. Man, you won't believe it. The panic... Streets won't fit to be on, and then we'll... My wife... couldn't travel. No, not with our herd, so we had to find a place to lay low. And then, after she died... We just stayed hunkered down. I guess we just froze in place."

"Plan to move on?" Castiel asks, "Haven't worked up to it yet." Rick buttons his shirt, they start walking to the gun room, Duane walks out of the dressing room and follows them. "Dad, can I learn to shoot? I'm old enough." Duane asks, "Hell yes you're going to learn. We gotta do it carefully, teach you to respect the weapon." Rick nods, "That's right. It's not a toy. You pull the trigger, you have to mean it. Always remember that, Duane." "Yes, sir." Rick hands Morgan a Remington 700 with a scope on the end." "Take that one. Nothing fancy. Scope's accurate." Morgan looks at the gun, Rick hands Castiel a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 and some ammo.

They get out of the police station and reach the police car, "Conserve your ammo. Goes faster than you think. Especially at target practice." Morgan hands a bag to Duane "Take this to the car." Castiel looks at Morgan, "Are you sure you won't come along?" "A few more days... By the end, Duane will know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty." Rick gives Morgan a walkie-talkie. "You got one better. I'll turn mine on, a few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there, that's how you find us." "You think they're here?" "Can't afford not to. Not anymore." "Look, just one thing. They may not seem like much one at a time... but in a group all round-up and hungry... May you watch your ass." "You too." "You're good men. I hope you'll find your wife and son. And I hope you'll find your friends."   
  
Before they can leave, Castiel looks over and sees Leon Basset, who is now a walker. "Leon Basset? Didn't think much of him. Careless and dumb, but... can't leave him like this." "You know they'll hear the shot." "Let's not be here when they'll show up." Morgan sighs and looks at Duane, "Let's go, son. Come on." Duane and Morgan run to their car, while Rick approaches Leon. He pulls out his Colt Python and shoots him in the head, killing him. Morgan and Duane separate and head back to their house. Rick and Castiel head off in the sheriff's car.

  
-

Rick drives down the road and broadcasts on the radio over an emergency channel, Castiel looks over at him, "Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond. Hello. Hello. Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there? Anybody hears me, please respond. Hello, can you hear my voice?"

  
~Dean's POV. Survivor Camp~

I look over at the radio as it goes off, " _Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear our voices?_ " a familiar, deep voice says. Amy runs past me and grabs the walkie-talkie, "Hey? Hello?" " _Can you hear my voice?_ " "Yes, I can hear you. You're coming through. Over." " _Anybody who reads, please respond. Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond._ " someone else takes over "We're just outside the city. Damnit. Hello? Hello? They couldn't hear me. I couldn't warn them." I walk over quickly, "Try to raise him again. Come on, kid. You know best how to work this thing," Before I can say anything, Shane comes over and tries to work the radio. "Hello, hello, is the person who calls still on the air? This is officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting a person unknown, please respond."

There's silence, _Come on Cas, please, please let that be you. Please still be alive._ Lori joins the few people near the radio, "There are others. It's not just us." "Yeah, We knew there would be, right, that's why we let the CB on." "Lots of good it's been doing. And I've been saying for a week, we ought to put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city." I sigh, "Folks got no idea what they're getting into." Shane scoffs and looks at me, "We don't have enough time." "I think we need to make time." "Yeah, that, uh... That's a luxury we can't afford. We are surviving here. We are day to day." Dale looks at both of us, "And who the hell would you propose to send?" "I'll go. Give me a vehicle." Lori says, "Nobody goes anywhere alone, you know that." "Yes, sir." she says, pissed off, she goes away and Carl follows her, but Shane holds him back. "Hey, hey, hey, come on, take a sit, buddy. You're alright, go on, you're alright."

I sit down next to the radio, _He's alive..Cas is still here..That was his voice._ I smile softy, tearing up, _Cas is alive. My angel is alive. I really hope that I'm not getting my hopes up, but that was his voice. I know his voice.._ Carl looks over at me, "Hey kiddo, what're you gonna be up to?" he shrugs "I might play with Sophia, and my cars." I chuckle, "What cars you got?" "A couple." he holds out a hand of matchbox cars. "Wanna play with me and Sophia?" "Sure, why not?"

~Castiel's POV~

Rick pulls the photograph that he has of his family off of the window. We get out and start to walk down the road to find some gasoline, "You didn't talk much about your old group." he says, I look over at him "There were only a four other people. Dean, Sam, Jody, and Bobby. We were in a old church, trying to get by, many of those _walkers_ showed up. It was almost the same as a hoard, I saw Bobby get attacked by a few, then there was gunfire, I heard Dean yelling at Sam and Jody. We got separated not long after, I went back to the church to see if they went back, but all I found was the bodies, blood, and Dean's necklace. It's kind of funny, the only thing left was a necklace.." 

"Hello? Police officer out here. Can we borrow some gas? Hello? Hello? Anybody home?" Rick calls as I push open the door and look inside, seeing two dead bodies with flies buzzing around them. There is a message on the wall written in blood saying "God Forgive Us" he walks up behind me "You find anything else?" I turn around quickly, "Uh, no. No, you?" he nods and walks over to a horse inside the barn. I look at it, "A horse? What about the-" "It has no keys." I walk up to it, "Easy now, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. Nothing like that. More like a proposal. Atlanta's just down the road ways. It's safe there. Food, shelter, people, other horses too, I bet. How's that sound?" Rick asks as he puts the harness on it.

He climbs on first, "Come on up." I climb on behind him. The horse suddenly starts moving quite fast, "Let's go easy, please?" he looks back at me, "I haven't done this for years. Easy. Easy, boy. Easy, easy, easy." he says the last part as he tries calming the animal. _Maybe I could help?_ My hand glows dimly, Rick doesn't notice me place my hand on the horse's leg. It instantly slows down, "That wasn't hard." he says as I nod "I've never ridden an animal." "He laughs, "Well, here's your first ride." I smile and look around at the trees, the sky, everything is calmer than usual..

-

One side of the highway is empty while the other side of the highway is packed with several cars that have been wrecked or abandoned. I look at the the streets as we ride into town, most are abandoned and there is trash everywhere. Rick leads the horse down the street where there are helicopters, cars, and even a tank wrecked along the road. There's bus and some of the walkers get up, starting to walk toward us. I tense up, he looks back at me, "It's just a few. Nothing we can't outrun. I nod and he guides the horse down the street, "Okay, whoa whoa whoa." he stops. I look up at the tank, there is a dead body that is being pecked at by crows. 

He rides past the tank and looks up in the air, I look up too and see nothing, he starts directing the horse in the direction of whatever he saw, but when he turns at the corner, there is a lot of walkers. All of them shuffle after us and he turns the horse back down the street we were just on. There is yet another huge group of walkers, "Can you make it move?" I ask, but we are trapped. I fall off the horse and start to crawl away from it. I catch a glimpse as walkers eat the horse and Rick crawls underneath the tank beside me. A few walkers crawl under, Rick shoots a few on his side, I shoot the ones on my side. 

"Hey." he says, motioning to the latch above him. He opens it first, climbing in, then I climb in behind him. "This is not what we planned" I say, breathing heavily, Rick nods. I look over at a dead soldier. I take the soldier's gun, seeing he's a walker. He uses the last bullet in his gun to shoot the soldier through the head. The sound of the bullet in the enclosed space makes a loud ringing sound, it takes a minute to get my hearing back. He starts to crawl up to the top hatch and looks outside, "Rick, stop, they'll see you." I hear the rest of the walkers start to bang on the tank to get inside. 

I look up at him as he sits with his hands in his lap, he seems very disheartened. He looks the soldier's gun, with a look I'm familar to seeing on the Winchesters, he's thinking about taking his own life. Just then, the radio starts to make static sounds. A voice on the other end starts talking, "Hey you, dumbasses in the tank..You cozy in there?" 


	2. Guts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there is slur usage and degrading in the following chapter due to a certain character.

~Dean's POV. Survivor Camp~

"Listen Sam, it was him! H-He came on the radio with some other man.. Cas is alive!" I yell, he sighs, "Dean. You saw how many were there! There is no way he survived, Angel or not." "I'm going to look for him, you are either with me on this or not. I can't just sit around knowing Cas is alive and in danger. Especially after what happened with Bobby and Jody!" I watch as Sam rubs his forehead, "I know what happened with them hurts, but he's heading to Atlanta. He's not going to make it, and I'm not letting you follow him to your death." I tense up, "Sammy-" "I told you how I see this! I don't wanna lose you too. But if you go down this road, I will.." "Well, I can't just sit around and let him die! You remember what Cas said, he lost most of his grace, which makes him human! Makes him able to die!"

He frowns, I look at him, knowing that I sound too emotional, "Please, I need to go looking for him. This is Cas! Not some other survivor we could give two shits about!" "Dean. We can't risk this, Atlanta is the place people go to die. There is no chance surviving that many. He- You know what happened the last time." I sigh, _I know what happened you dumb ass, it didn't just effect you. Cas was messed up for a few weeks, I mean, that was his brother._ "Yeah, I do. But if this is my one chance to get him back, make him safe. Then I will do whatever it takes." he sighs, starting to walk away, he stops and looks back. "This is a suicide mission. I doubt Dale is gonna let you go anyway. The others already left and you are the second best shooter here, we'll need you." "Who said I'm gonna ask Dale?"

~Castiel's POV. Atlanta~

I lay my head against the wall of the tank, we are fucked..we are gonna die, I'm never gonna see Dean or Sam again.. The radio starts hissing, "Hey, are you alive in there?" Rick moves over to the radio, "Hello? Hello?" I move over so I can hear what they say. "There you are, you had me wondering.." "Where are you? Outside? Can you see us right now?" I look at him, praying to Dad that the man answers again, "Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news." "There's good news?" "No." "Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you my friend and I are a little concerned in here." "Oh man. You should see it from over here. You'd be having a major freak-out." I take the radio from Rick, "Got any advice on what to do?"

"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it." Rick sighs, "That's it? "Make a run for it"?" "My way's not as dumb as it sounds. You've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down. With me so far?" "So far.." "Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance. Got ammo?" I look over at Rick and he nods, "In that duffel bag I dropped out there, there were some guns. Can I get to it? Man on." The man sighs, almost like he's upset, "Forget the bag, okay? It's not an option. What do you have on you" "Hang on."

Rick pulls out the gun that he took off of the Soldier, but it only has one clip. I see a grenade laying next to the Soldier, I grab it and clip it onto the jeans belt loop, I then take my gun out and check, I have at least 10 bullets. He takes the radio, "Yeah. Yeah. I've got a Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds. Castiel has 10 bullets." the radio hisses again, "Make 'em count. Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards. Be there." "Hey, what's your name?" I look up, "Did you hear him? We're running out of time." I grab a piece of metal and use it to open the top of the tank, a Walker tries grabbing me and I use the metal to cut his head in half, "Come on!" I yell to Rick.

We bolt down the street, shooting Walkers that get too close. I run out of bullets and just put my gun into the holster I snagged from the station, Rick grabs my arm and pulls me into an alley. He aims the gun at someone there, it's the man we have been talking to, "Woah! Not dead!" he lowers the gun and we continue running until the man leads up to a ladder, Rick stops climbing after a moment and looks at all the walkers below us. "What are you doing?! Come on!" he continues climbing, I help him up the last part, "Come on, get up." I look at them as they pant, the man chuckles, looking at Rick's outfit "Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood. You the new sheriff come riding in to clean up the town?"

"It wasn't our intention." I say, he nods, "Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still dumbasses." "I'm Rick, that's Castiel." "Glenn. You're welcome. Oh no. The bright side: It'll be the fall that kills us." I give him a judgmental look, he looks nervous, "I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy." We jump across a gap between buildings, "Are you the one that barricaded the alley?" Rick asks looking at the bus that blocks the way, "Somebody did... I guess when the city got overrun. Whoever did it was thinking not many geeks would get through." I look over at him, "When we were in the tank..why did you chose to help us?" Glenn shrugs, "Call it foolish, naive hope that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me. Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass than you." we go to another ladder and climb down, it leads to the building. Glenn takes out a walkie-talkie, "I'm back. Got two guests plus four geeks in the alley."

Two people come out with protective gear and baseball bats. They each go after one of the Walkers, Glenn looks at us, "Let's go!" Rick and Glenn make their way into the building as I look back at the two men in the alley. "Morales, let's go!" the one yells, Morales follows after killing the Walker. Glenn goes behind two women as Rick and I immediately have a gun pointed at us by the one. "You sons of bitches. We ought to kill you." I look over at Rick, who stares at her terrified, Morales walks over, "Just chill out, Andrea. Back off." The second woman looks at her, "Come on, ease up." Andrea turns to her, "Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of these stupid assholes." "Andrea, I said back the hell off. If you pull the trigger. We're dead... All of us... Because of you."

Rick looks at them, "I don't understand.." Andrea glares at him, "Look, we came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral." the man standing next to Glenn looks at him, "Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds. You just rang the dinner bell. Get the picture now?" I look over and see the walkers growling and trying to get into the store. A few are attempting to smash through the double set of doors to get to them, Andrea looks over, "Oh God..What the hell were you doing out there anyway?" "I-" "Trying to flag the helicopter." the man chuckles, "Helicopter? Man, that's crap. Ain't no damn helicopter." I glance at Rick, "You were chasing a hallucination, the perception of something not present. . It happens."

"I saw it.." Morales shakes his head, "Hey, T-Dog, try that C.B. Can you contact the others?" _Maybe Sam, Dean, and Jody are in the refuge center.._ "Others? The refugee center?" he scoffs, "Yeah, the refugee center. They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us." I frown as I watch T-Dog trying to use a radio to get in contact with the "others", "Got no signal. Maybe the roof?" I look up as I hear a gun fire, Andrea looks over at T-Dog, "Is that Dixon?" "What is that maniac doing?" Glenn sighs, "Come on, let's go." I follow the others up, Rick tagging along behind me. 'Dixon' is shooting at several of the walkers on the street below with a sniper rifle, "Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!" Morales yells, he laughs and continues shooting. I start walking over to him, "You are shooting walkers that can't even hurt you..it's a waste of bullets."

He looks at me, chuckling, "You oughta be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh? Only common sense." T-Dog looks at him as he turns to face the group, "Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!" Dixon continues laughing, "And you're bringing even more of them down on our ass! Just chill." "Hey! Bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day," he motions to Morales, I glare at him as he looks T-Dog up and down, "Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day." "That'll be the day? You got something you want to tell me?" I look at him, "T-Dog, you should ignore him." "No." Morales looks at him, "It ain't worth it. Now Merle, just relax, okay? We've got enough trouble." _Merle? I thought his name was Dixon? Either way he's an assbutt.._ "You want to know the day?" he asks, getting into Merle's face, "Yeah. I'll tell you the day, Mr. "Yo." It's the day I take orders from a nigger." "Mother Fucker." Merle punches T-Dog in the face, they start fighting.

Morales grabs his arm, "Hey, come on, Merle. That's enough. Come on. Dixon!" Andrea watches them, "Whoa, cut it out! Stop it! Dixon, get off him! You're gonna hurt him." I make my way over but Glenn stops me, Merle pulls a gun on him, "No no no, please. Please." He looks around at us, "Yeah! All right! We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge. I vote me. Anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favor? Huh? Come on. Let's see 'em. Oh, come on. All in favor?" Everyone slowly raises their hands, I refuse to, he chuckles, "Yeah. That's good. Now that means I'm the boss, right? Yeah. Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?" I grab my gun and walk over, "Yeah." I strike him over the head , knocking him back, Rick rushes over and tries handcuffing him, I grab a hold of his arm.  
  
"Who the hell are you, man?!" Rick glares at him, "Officer friendly. Look here, _Merle_. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart." "Screw you, man." I stare at him, "I can see you make a habit of missing the point." "Yeah? Well, screw you too." "Ought to be polite to a man with a gun." I cock my gun and Rick does the same while chuckling, "Only common sense." "Neither of you would. You're cops." "All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. He is a man looking for his friends. Anybody that gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that,"

He motions to Merle's nose, "Got some on your nose there." he chuckles, "What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" he searches Merle's pocket, pulling something out, "Hey! What are you doing? Man, that was my stuff! Hey! If I get loose, you'd better pray... Yeah, you hear me, you pig?! You hear me?!" _Just act like Dean, they'll think you're stronger.._ "Yeah, your voice carries." "You shut your mouth you fucking freak." Morales looks at Rick and I, "You're not from around here. Where you from?" "Lawrence, Kansas." "Well, that's a long ways away." he looks at Rick, "Well, Officer Friendly and-" "Castiel" He chuckles, "Welcome to the big city." I look over the ledge of the roof, there's at least 400,000 walkers below.

-Later. 3rd Person POV-

"My God, it's like Times Square down there." Andrea says, Castiel looks up at her, "There are 330,000 people that pass through times square per day. There are thousands more down there then there are in Times Square." she gives him a look "How do you know that?" "I, uh, studied populations for a while.." Morales shakes his head as he turns to T-Dog, who is sitting against the wall next to the door, "How's that signal?" "Like Dixon's brain... Weak." "Keep trying." Andrea scoffs, "Why? There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing." "We still got some people outside the city. There's no refugee center. That's a pipe dream, but we have survivors." Rick looks at him, "Then she's right. We're on our own. It's up to us to find a way out."

Merle smirks, chuckling, "Good luck with that. These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear. Ain't that right, sugar tits?" Andrea glares at him, he continues, "Hey, honeybunch, what say you get me out of these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies? Gonna die anyway." "I'd rather." "Rub muncher. I figured as much." Castiel walks over, "Leave her alone." "What're you gon' do?" he grabs his gun from his holster, Andrea grabs his arm, "Don't." Morales groans, "Oh man. Hey, Glenn, check the alley. You see any manhole covers?" Glenn leans over the ledge, there's no manhole covers, just a few walkers. "No, must be all out on the street where the geeks are." Jacqui walks over, "Maybe not. Old buildings like this built in the '20s... Big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding down in the sub basements."

Glenn tilts his head, "How do you know that?" "It's my job, or, was. I worked in the city zoning office." The group heads down to the basement, leaving Merle on the roof, they reach a sewer entrance, "This is it? Are you sure?" Morales asks, Glenn nods, "I really scoped this place out the other times I was here. It's the only thing in the building that goes down. But I've never gone down it. Who'd want to, right?" Everyone looks at him, "Oh. Great." "We'll be right behind you." Andrea says, "No, you won't. Not you." "Why not me? Think I can't?" "I wasn't..." "Speak your mind." "Look, until now I always came here by myself... In and out, grab a few things... No problem. The first time I bring a group... Everything goes to hell. No offense. If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine... But only if we do it my way. It's tight down there. If I run into something and have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one person...Not you either."

He motions to Rick, "You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were out in that store watching those doors, covering our ass. And you've got a gun as well, so you should go with him." He glances at Morales, "You be my wingman. Jacqui stays here. Something happens, yell down to us, get us back up here in a hurry." "Okay." Rick looks around, "Okay, everybody knows their jobs." Glenn leads down the ladder, followed by Morales, the others leave.

~Castiel's POV~

I walk between the clothes rack, watching as Rick stands with Andrea, "Sorry for the gun in your faces." "People do things when they're afraid." "Not that it was entirely unjustified. You did get us into this.." He chuckles softly, "If I get us out, would that make up for it?" "No, but it'd be a start." I turn my attention back to the door, Walkers continue banging on it. I touch the necklace, _please Dad, please just let us survive this..let me see Dean, Sam, and Jody again.. Let them be out there living.._ I look back over at Andrea, "My sister. She's still such a kid in some ways. Unicorns, dragons... She's into all that stuff. But mermaids... They rule. She loves mermaids."

Rick smiles, "Why not take it?" "There's a cop staring at me. Would it be considered looting?" "I don't think those rules apply anymore. Do you?" I quickly look back at the door, pulling my gun out of my holster as the first row of glass shatters and Walkers start walking into the doorway, starting to try and break the second layer. Rick moves towards my spot, aiming his gun. Glenn and Morales rush into the room, "What did you find down there?" I ask, Morales looks around panicked, "Not a way out." Andrea sighs, "We need to find a way... And soon."

We rush up the stairs, "Rick, go see if there is something over there." I say, pointing to the ledge, I rush over to the other, "There's a construction site! Those trucks... They always keep keys on hand." Morales looks at me as I run back over to where Rick is, "You'll never make it past the walkers." "You got us out of that tank." Rick says, turning to Glenn, "Yeah, but they were feeding. They were distracted." I sigh, "Can we distract them again?" Merle nods, "Right. Listen to him. He's onto something. A diversion, like on "Hogan's Heroes."." Jaquci glares at him, "Give it a rest." I think for a moment, "They're drawn by sound." Glenn smiles slightly, "Right, like dogs. They hear a sound, they come."

"What else?" Morales sighs, "Aside from they hear you? They see you, smell you and if they catch you, they eat you." Rick looks confused, "They can tell us by smell?" "Can't you? They smell dead, we don't. It's pretty distinct." Rick leads up back down to the store, he gives outfits and other things to us. Glenn looks at him, "If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold." Morales frowns, "He's right. Just stop, okay? Take some time to think this through." Rick glances at him, "How much time? They already got through one set of doors, that glass won't hold forever." Morales and T-Dog go outside, pulling in a Walker they killed, Rick grabs a hatchet and prepares to swing, "Wait a moment, please." I say.

He gives he a look as I kneel down and search the walker's pocket. _Don't be her, please, please, don't be her_. I pull out a wallet, I tear up as I read the license to everyone. "Jody Mills. South Dakota license. Born in 1968. She had $28 in her wallet when she died... And a picture of.." I stare numbly at the picture of her, Sam, and Dean. "Her family." I step away from her, Andrea places a hand on my shoulder. _If she's dead then they definitely are..they can't still be out there..Fucking dammit, Dad...Why?_ I close my eyes as Rick hacks away at her body, "¡Madre de Dios!" Morales yells. "¡Mi Dios!" I turn away, staring at the wall, "Oh God." Andrea says.

Glenn groans, "I am so gonna hurl." I look back at the group, trying not to look at Jody's body, Rick sighs, "Everybody got gloves? Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes." The others put guts on him and Glenn, "Are you going with them?" Morales asks, I nod "Y-Yeah..I guess." "Oh God! Oh jeez. Oh, this is bad. This is really bad." Glenn says, Rick glances at him, "Think about something else... Puppies and kittens." "Dead puppies and kittens." T-Dog says, chuckling, Glenn vomits and Andrea glares at him, "That is just evil. What is wrong with you?" Jaquci shakes her head, "Next time let the man beat his ass." Glenn looks at T-Dog, "You suck."

Rick cringes, "Do we smell like them?" Andrea nods, "Oh yeah. Glenn. Just in case." she gives a gun to him. I look at them, "If we make it back, be ready." T-Dog looks at Rick, "What about Merle?" he tosses the handcuff key to him. The three of us walk outside and pass two walkers that are close by. The walkers stare at us briefly, and they turn away, Rick crawls under a bus "Come on" he whispers, we crawl under following. We come out on the other side where a huge herd of walkers is waiting, I look at the walkers as we shuffle past, none of them noticing that we are alive.

~Survivor Camp. Sam's POV~

I watch as Dale is fixing up the mobile home with help from Dean and Jim, "Boy, that hose isn't long for this world, is it?" Dean looks up, "No sir." "Where the hell are we gonna find a replacement?" Amy looks up at me, "It's late. They should've been back by now." I frown, "Worrying about them won't make it better." The radio squawks, T-Dog's voice cuts through " _Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me_?" Dean takes the radio, "Hello? Hello? Reception is bad on this end. Repeat." " _Dean, is that you_?" I rush over, " _We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store._ " Amy looks at Dean, "He said they're trapped?" " _There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of 'em. We're surrounded._ " I take the radio from Dean, "T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat _."_

"He said the department store." Shane looks at me, "I heard it too." Dean nods, "So did I." He starts to walk off, Shane and I follow, "Dean?" Shane asks. He glances at me and him as we follow, "No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that." he scoffs, "So we're just gonna leave them there?" Amy looks up from whatever she is grabbing, Dean dodges him, I continue following him. "Dean, I know that this is not easy...You think Cas is out there, you think there's a chance the others are out there.." "They can be! Cas is out there! Some of our group is trapped!" "They are long gone. Cas is definitely long gone." He glares at me, "Don't you say that. Don't fucking talk about him like that!" he goes to punch, I grab his hand. "Dean.. Just because you are pissed off that I'm telling the truth doesn't mean you can lash out at me."

He shakes his head, "I need to help them. I need to help Cas." "You can't. That's what I keep telling you." "I can." he says before walking in the direction of the Impala and our tents. _We lost three people, how can't he see we lost another? I need my brother back, the one who was yelling at me for the same things a few weeks ago. I hate this shitty new world.._

~Atlanta. 3rd person~

"It's gonna work. I can't believe it." Glenn whispers, Castiel looks at him, "Don't draw attention." While Castiel, Rick, and Glenn continue to shuffle down the street, rain starts to fall on them, on the roof Morales and the others are still watching the three of them. "Oh man.." Andrea looks at him, "It's just a cloudburst. We get 'em all the time. It'll pass real quick." They try not to panic as they continue to walk at the normal pace, the rain is starting to wash off the guts and the walkers are starting to get a whiff of them as they pass. The walkers start to get a little more aggressive towards them as they try to figure out if they are dead or alive. Glenn looks up at Castiel, "The smell's washing off. Isn't it? Is it washing off?" "No, it's not. Well, maybe." as more guts wash off, the walkers realize that they are indeed alive.

One of them starts to charge at them and Rick proceeds to crush its skull with the axe, "Run!" Castiel and Glenn take off down the street with Rick tagging behind, killing 6 more with the axe, Glenn kills 2 with a crowbar he has, and Castiel kills as many as he can with the knife he's holding. They throw their weapons over a fence and climb over it before the walkers are able to get them, Castiel looks around for the keys, Rick pulls Merle's pistol out and kills more walkers with it. Glenn finally finds the keys to the truck and throws them to Castiel, "Rick!" They quickly get into the truck as some walkers start climbing over the fence and running after them. One of them reaches the truck and taps on Glenn's window, "Go go go go!" The truck speeds away before the walkers catch up.

On the roof Andrea watches them drive off, "They're leaving us!" Merle looks up, "What? What!?" Morales runs over to where Andrea is, "Where are they going?" "No no, come back!" In the truck Glenn drives as Castiel and Rick try sitting in the seat beside him, "Oh my God. Oh my God. They're all over that place." Glenn says, Castiel looks at him, "You need to draw them away. Those roll-up doors at the front of the store... That area? That's what we need cleared. Call your friends. Tell them to get down there and be ready." "And I'm drawing the geeks away how? I... I missed that part." Rick looks at him, "Noise." They pull up next to a red sports car and Castiel smashes the window, the car alarm starts to sound and Rick hotwires the car for Glenn.

Glenn drives the sports car back towards the store as Rick drives the truck back, " _Those roll-up doors at the front of the store facing the street... Meet us there and be ready_." crackles through the radio on the roof, they start gathering their things as Merle is still handcuffed. "Come on! Let's go, let's go!" Morales yells, Merle looks at them, "Hey, you can't leave me here! I'm not fooling, man! Morales! Hey, man! Don't do this!" Andrea glares at it and leads Jacqui to the door, "Come on." "Hey, that pig has my gun. You can't leave me. Don't leave me here, you guys." Andrea looks at Morales, "Morales, come on." "I'm coming! We've gotta go!" leaves the roof, while T-Dog is hesitating.

"Morales! You can't leave me like this, man! Hey, T-Dog. No, man. You can't leave me, man. You can't leave me here... Not like this. You can't, man. It's not human. Come on, don't do this." T-Dog groans, but decides to free him, "Come on, T. Come on! Come on, yeah! Yeah! Come on! Co... That's it! Yes! Come on, baby! Come on." he says as T-Dog runs back over but as he runs back, he trips. The handcuff key falls out of his hand and ends up dropping down a drain, "Son of a bitch! You did that on purpose!" "I didn't mean to!" "You lie! You did it on purpose!" "It was an accident!" "Don't leave me, man! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! You liar!" T-Dog looks at him, "I'm sorry. Man, I'm sorry." "Don't leave me!" "I'm sorry."

He runs from the roof, "Damn you all! Don't leave me, man! Don't leave... don't leave me!" In an effort to try and help Merle, he chains the door to the roof shut. "Hey! What are you doing, man? You're gonna rot in hell! You're gonna rot in hell! Come back, man!" Merle starts tugging on the handcuffs, "Wait a minute! Here I come! Don't leave me! Don't leave!" The rest of the survivors make it to the loading dock, Andrea rushes to the door, "Okay. Okay. I got it." there's a faint sound, "What is that? On the street Glenn races past, "Come on. Come on. Get closer. Get closer. Come on. Come on!" Glenn pulls up to the store in the red sports car and is able to lure most of the walkers away from the store.

T-Dog joins the rest of the survivors just in time before the other walkers break through the second set of doors and storm the store. Thanks to Glenn, Rick has the chance to pull in with his truck, "They're here! Let's go! They're in here!" Rick bangs on the spot behind the chair and Castiel opens the back, "Let's go! We have to go!" Castiel helps Morales in as the others climb into the back, "They're in!" He closes the back before the walkers can get to them and the group makes their escape, as they drive away, everyone notices Merle is missing.

"Where is Merle Dixon?" Castiel asks, T-Dog sighs, "I dropped the damn key." realizing there is nothing that they can do, they continue driving away. Andrea notices Glenn isn't around, "Where's Glenn?" Castiel looks at her, "Just listen." down the highway Rick and Castiel entered Atlanta in, the car alarm still ringing as Glenn speeds down the highway in the red sports car. He is listening to music and screaming at the rush of driving down the road this fast. "Oh my god." Andrea says, chuckling, Morales shakes his head, "That boy is as bright as a bag of rocks." Castiel tilts his head, "I don't understand that reference." "Of course you don't." Morales says smiling.


End file.
